The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

I was captivated by this book and annoyed at the same time.  The main character, Victoria, will drive you crazy. You want to shake her and talk some sense into this girl! But, she is a child without a mother, who has been in over 30 foster homes during her short 18 year life, so you forgive her and are sympathetic....to a point.
There were parts that were not at all believable, but still, I wanted to read this book and finish it, so that is a testament to its merit.  The reader wants to know what Victoria did to Elizabeth, the one foster "mother" who loved her and wanted to adopt her formally. You want to know what happened between Elizabeth and her sister, Catherine, that keeps cropping up over and over. And  you want to tell her, "Just love Grant! He is a gem!"
So, I read the book in just a few days because the story is compelling and the reader is drawn in.  But is it great literature? Probably not. I did learn a lot about flowers, though!

The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan

I loved reading the last 150 pages of this book, and I actually loved the first 150, too, but in the middle there were LONG passages that I felt could have been much condensed. There were long passages describing what a courtesan should expect and do for their clients and that chapter was far too long and not really that interesting.
What I did love about the book was the way it came full circle in the end, reuniting the three women: Lulu, Violet and Flora (grandmother, mother and daughter) and showing their similarities. It was a touching and satisfying ending to a too long book.